Current Articles for October 02, 2025

The Legislative Reference Library produces a weekly list of current journal articles for members of the legislative community. Each week, librarians select and abstract articles of interest to the legislature from the latest issues of over 300 journals, newsletters, state documents, and trade publications. Electronic copies of the Current Articles list are distributed to legislative offices each Thursday.

The Legislative Reference Library is located on the second floor of the State Capitol building in Room 2N.3. For more information, please call the Library at 512-463-1252.

• FSC v Paxton made bad law, but it’s not carte blanche for age verification. By Kate Ruane and Aliya Bhatia. Center for Democracy and Technology, August 22, 2025, p. 1.
  Discusses the Supreme Court's decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, a case examining whether Texas could require age verification to access certain lawful speech. Explains that the Court upheld the statute at issue, requiring online services that publish a certain amount of sexual content harmful to minors to verify that their users are over the age of eighteen. Argues that the decision contradicts decades of precedent and will endanger access to constitutionally protected speech for everyone online going forward, but adds that it is limited in important ways, and that legislatures should not view it as carte blanche to impose age restrictions on access to speech online.
  See: https://cdt.org/insights/fsc-v-paxton-made-bad-law-but-its-not-carte-blanche-for-age-verification/
  Related information at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-1122_3e04.pdf
  
• What to know about 7-OH, the new vape shop hazard. By Samantha Anderer. JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), September 23/30, 2025, pp. 1045-1046.
  Discusses the availability and effects of a kratom byproduct known as 7-OH, which can be addictive and mimics some of the effects of opioids. Cautions that although these products are currently legal, they are packaged in a way that may be appealing to children and adolescents. Notes that Florida has already taken action to curb access to 7-OH.
  See: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2838093
  
• Influenza-associated pediatric deaths—United States, 2024–25 influenza season. By Katie Reinhart, et al. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), September 25, 2025 , pp. 565-569.
  Discusses influenza-associated pediatric deaths during the 2024-25 flu season. Provides demographic characteristics, influenza virus types, and vaccination status in cases of influenza-associated deaths of patients under the age of eighteen.
  See: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/pdfs/mm7436a2-H.pdf
  
• Federal court dismisses challenge to Texas’ newly enacted foreign ownership law. The National Agricultural Law Center, September 10, 2025, p. 1.
  Outlines the legal struggle over SB 17, 89th Legislature, R.S., which prohibits certain foreign investments in real property located within the boundaries of the state. Notes that three Chinese citizens who live in Texas and hold nonimmigrant visas brought a class action lawsuit against the Texas Office of the Attorney General to challenge the state’s restriction, but that the judge dismissed the case for lack of standing. Explains the broader landscape of states attempting to impose foreign ownership restrictions, including in Florida and Arkansas.
  See: https://nationalaglawcenter.org/federal-court-dismisses-challenge-to-texas-newly-enacted-foreign-own ...
  
• Bandera Electric: Transforming the grid from the ground up. By Elizabeth Cook. Public Utilities Fortnightly, August 2025, pp. 66, 58.
  Discusses Bandera Electric Cooperative’s innovative solutions to meet customer needs.
  See: https://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2025/08/bandera-electric-transforming-grid-ground
  
• ERCOT CEO on 'ERCOT 4.0.' By Steve Mitnick and Pablo Vegas. Public Utilities Fortnightly, August 2025, pp. 6-11.
  Features an interview with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) CEO Pablo Vegas on the state of the electric grid.
  See: https://www.fortnightly.com/fortnightly/2025/08/ercot-ceo-ercot-40
  
• Burning questions on wildfire. By Yun Qian. Science, September 11, 2025, pp. 1086-1087.
  Considers the effects of more extreme wildfires on air pollution and weather patterns. Calls for advancing wildfire research to improve fire models and understanding of fire, heat, and smoke impact over large areas.
  See: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea7430
  
• The precarious future of consumer genetic privacy. By Natalie Ram, et al. Science, September 11, 2025, pp. 1092-1094.
  Explores issues with direct-to-consumer genetic data and the privacy and security concerns this market creates. Considers gaps in U.S. and state laws where Congress and state legislatures can act to improve consumer protections related to genetic data privacy.
  See: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adz7229
  
• Cashless bail, explained: What it is, how it works and why Trump is targeting it. By Amanda Hernández. Stateline.org, September 23, 2025, p. 1.
  Considers state legislation related to cashless bail. Mentions SJR 5, 89th Legislature, R.S. and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
  See: https://stateline.org/2025/09/23/cashless-bail-explained-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-why-trump-is-ta ...
  
• New Texas bail law may clash with Harris County's federal consent decree. By Holly Hansen. Texan, September 23, 2025, p. 1.
  Explains that SB 9, 89th Legislature, R.S., prohibiting personal recognizance bonds for certain offenses, may conflict with a federal consent decree governing misdemeanor bail in Harris County. Discusses a September 12, 2025 letter from attorney Neal Manne outlining consent decree violations relating to SB 9.
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/criminal-justice/new-texas-bail-law-may-clash-with-harris-county-s-fede ...
  Related information at: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26125652-2025-09-12-consent-decree-violations-related-to-sen ...
  
• Texas' classroom Ten Commandments law faces another lawsuit from parents, activists. By Mary Elise Cosgray. Texan, September 23, 2025, p. 1.
  Describes a new lawsuit, Cribbs Ringer v. Comal Independent School District, challenging SB 10, 89th Legislature, R.S., in Comal, Georgetown, Conroe, Flour Bluff, Fort Worth, Arlington, McKinney, Frisco, Northwest, Azle, Rockwall, Lovejoy, Mansfield, and McAllen ISDs. Notes the lawsuit was filed by fifteen multi-faith or nonreligious parents and organizations and that it cites U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery's previous opinion in Rabbi Mara Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, blocking the law in eleven school districts.
  Related information at: https://ffrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Texas-10C-Opinion.pdf
  See: https://thetexan.news/issues/social-issues-life-family/texas-classroom-ten-commandments-law-faces-an ...
  Related information at: https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/2025-09-22_-_complaint_for_declaratory_and_injunctive_rel ...
  
• A far-right faction took power in Odessa. Then it had to govern. By Michael Hardy. Texas Monthly, October 2025, pp. 45-46, 48, 50, 52, 54.
  Discusses the results of last November's elections in Odessa, Texas, where a group of conservatives led by then-mayor Javier Joven were defeated by voters. Describes the actions taken by Joven's faction, which included firing top city staff, packing commissions with right-wing loyalists, and taking strong positions on culture-war issues such as abortion and gender identity. Notes that the new government struggled for years to provide vital city services, and that voters in 2024 replaced Joven and his slate of candidates with moderates.
  See: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/odessa-texas-far-right/
  
• New bill limits foreign real estate ownership in Texas. By Reid Wilson. Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, September 22, 2025, p. 1.
  Discusses SB 17, 89th Legislature, R.S., effective September 1, 2025, which prohibits foreign real estate investment and ownership, with certain exceptions, from an initial list of four designated countries: China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Explains the law before SB 17; who is prohibited from acquiring land or owning real estate in Texas; and the various exceptions to the prohibitions.
  See: https://trerc.tamu.edu/article/new-bill-limits-foreign-real-estate-ownership-in-texas/
  
• New laws that matter to you and your clients. Texas Realtor, September/October 2025, pp. 11-13.
  Summarizes significant bills enacted in the 89th Legislature, R.S., of interest to property owners and real estate agents, including squatting (SB 1333); flood plain notice requirements (SB 2349); foreign property acquisition (SB 17); do-not-call rules for text messages (SB 140); small business cybersecurity breaches (SB 2610); bandit signs (HB 3611); security deposit notices (HB 2037); right to vacate after certain sex offenses or stalking (HB 47); and repeal of the practice of subagency in real estate transactions (SB 1968).
  See: https://www.texasrealestate.com/wp-content/uploads/TexasRealtor0525.pdf#page=7